James Murphy
CONDITIONS were far from ideal for soccer over the weekend, but goals still flowed heavily in the men’s A Grade on Sunday.
Played in the mud and rain, a total of 28 goals were scored across the three games.
There was no questioning the match of the round, with Malseed Park hosting a blockbuster between Blue Lake and International for the inaugural Lewis Ferguson Memorial Shield.
The game was worthy of the occasion and after a tough arm wrestle, Inter emerged victorious 7-6 in gruelling conditions.
“The ground was cut up after two day’s of play and the (rain) conditions were bad as well,” Inter coach Tony D’Agostino said.
“To the credit of both teams, they put on a very good display of skills.
“I don’t think anyone would have believed there would be 13 goals scored in the game.”
The result came down to the wire with goals in the 90th and 92nd minute sealing Inter’s win.
Blue Lake started well to steal a 2-0 lead by the 14th minute, with goals to Shar Nay Than and Jack Latham.
“They got away to a very good start,” D’Agostino said.
“They played the conditions better than us early on and it took us a little while to adapt to it.”
However, Inter found its feet and within the next 11 minutes had managed to equalise through Dan Allwright and Matt Bueti.
The arm wrestle continued from there but when the Rangers found some consistent avenues to goal, they ended the first half in front with a late score from Meereh Htoo.
Htoo then opened the second term with his second goal, after a pass off from Than allowed him to pelt the ball into the back of the net in impressive style.
Suddenly Inter was 4-2 down and the pressure was on.
It was then D’Agostino decided to swing some changes.
“I put my two fullbacks Tyler Michielan and Lachie Charlton into the midfield and gave them a bit of freedom to run,” he said.
“I think those changes worked and once we got a bit of domination in the midfield, the chances started coming more freely.”
The duo were well suited to the conditions and helped Inter find a foothold in the game, with the next three goals all from a black and blue (and brown) boot.
Allwright kicked his second and third, while Tom Weedon was also in on the action with his goal in the 79th minute putting Inter in front for the first time.
During this time Christian Cella also made an impact on the wing, as he was shifted out wide to prevent the Rangers from making runs.
“Once we got to four-all – it took us a bit of time to get there – but I thought we could run away with it,” D’Agostino said.
“We got to 5-4 in front and that was the first time in the game we had hit the front.
“But the Blue Lake team did not give up, they equalised and then took the lead.”
A penalty allowed Than to level the scores, before he slotted his third goal to put the Rangers back in the lead at the 89th minute.
“At that stage I thought we could be in a bit of trouble,” D’Agostino said.
However, the Inter boys did not drop their heads and in an act of pure determination they turned the game on its head again.
Nick Morony was pushed up into the midfield as Inter changed the backline to a flat back three setup and within the next three minutes Allwright had equalised and Charlton bagged the winner, with euphoric scenes in the 92nd minute.
D’Agostino was impressed with the attitude of his team when it counted and could not have been more pleased with the end result given the circumstances.
The Lewis Ferguson Memorial Shield was decided across both the men’s and women’s games, with the club which wins the most games given the honours.
With four wins apiece it came down to the men’s A Grade, in a fitting conclusion to the special round.
Allwright was deemed the best on ground by referees and he received the inaugural Lewis Ferguson medal.
The other two games for the round were one-sided affairs.
Gambier Centrals travelled to Millicent for a strong 8-0 win, with Lewis March leading the charge.
He opened the match with the first two goals, while bookending the game with the final score for his hat trick.
A penalty goal from Sam Shoemark put the Lions 3-0 up at half time.
He then added another goal to open the second term, with one-way traffic from there on.
Christian Fleetwood, Jake Blackwell and Kynan Sheedy all had a piece of the action, while down the other end the Centrals’ defence kept the home team at bay.
The final match was a similar story at Webb Street.
Apollo hosted Naracoorte and wasted no time establishing a sturdy lead on its way to a 7-0 victory.
By half time the margin was out to 4-0, with Apollo continuing to direct the traffic after the break.
Despite the wet conditions, the hosts added another three goals for good measure in a percentage-boosting performance.
Say Say Wah was a highlight in front of goal and he scored four on the day.
Jack Donehue opened the ledger, while Jock Prentice and Gay Nay Say Ler also converted.
This week Apollo will face more of a challenge, with a rematch against Centrals.
Meanwhile, Inter hosts Millicent at Casadio Park and Blue Lake makes the journey to Naracoorte.
